Chapter 496 Busy Cultivating Feelings
Early in the morning, Sophia slowly opened her eyes and found herself in Benjamin's arms.
The moment she stirred slightly, Benjamin opened his eyes.
When their eyes met—hers clear and bright—a smile appeared at the corner of Benjamin's lips.
"Why don't you sleep a little longer?"
Sophia slowly shook her head. "I can't really fall back asleep."
It had been a week since Lachlan was arrested, and everything had finally settled.
The crimes Lachlan had committed over the years were enough to sentence him to death, and those professors who participated in the research wouldn't escape punishment either.
Looking back carefully, Lachlan had actually shown signs all along.
It was just that they didn't know about the grudges from the previous generation, and they never imagined that the always gentle Lachlan would do such things.
Preston had adopted Lachlan out of kindness, never expecting it would harm the entire White family, and Lachlan himself.
After Lachlan was arrested, Preston fell ill.
Preston said he deeply regretted his decision.
But everyone knew that if Preston hadn't adopted Lachlan back then, his conscience would never have been at peace.
He did all this hoping Lachlan could have a better life.
It was also Preston's way of repaying Lachlan's father for saving his life.
But in the end, Lachlan stubbornly believed he was Preston's illegitimate son and completely ignored Preston's love for him.
This incident caused quite a stir. Although Alaric had his people suppress the news, word still spread throughout the wealthy circles.
The White family became the focus of everyone's gossip, and people couldn't help but sigh over it.
Unable to sleep anymore, Sophia got up to wash up. After breakfast, she went with Benjamin to the White Manor.
She examined Preston and gave him treatment.
After Lachlan was taken away, he became so anxious and emotionally overwhelmed that his blood pressure spiked. He was extremely weak now.
All the White family members gathered around the bed, looking at Preston with worry.
Preston waved them off. "Go do whatever you need to do. Why are you all crowding around me? I'm not dying yet."
His tone was full of annoyance.
Magnus frowned and said sternly, "Dad, don't talk like that."
"Grandpa, Sophia's medical skills are so amazing, she'll definitely cure you." Alaric chimed in from the side.
Preston smiled without saying anything.
He understood his own body. He was already very satisfied to have lived all these while.
If Sophia hadn't been helping him manage his health all these years, he probably would have died long ago.
But he had come to terms with it now—birth, aging, sickness, and death were all natural.
Going through the incident with Lachlan had made him understand many things.
His gaze slowly fell on Sophia's belly, and a gleam flashed in his deep eyes.
What he looked forward to most now was seeing Benjamin's child before he died.
Whether Benjamin's child was a boy or a girl, he would love them.
Actually, he had wanted a daughter for a long time, but never had the chance.
Later, when Lachlan had a daughter, he doted on Celestia tremendously, giving her whatever she wanted.
However, he didn't spoil Celestia without limits—if she did something wrong, he would criticize her strictly.
But whenever he disciplined Celestia, Arabella would always accuse him of being unfair.
Arabella felt he favored Magnus's children and never criticized them harshly, but instead scolded Celestia.
But in reality, he just hoped Celestia would become better and better.
As for Magnus's sons, they had always been obedient and sensible.
Alaric was born when Magnus and Amelia were most in love, so it wasn't his turn to discipline Alaric back then.
Later, when Magnus and Amelia's relationship fell apart, Alaric had already matured. No matter what happened, he would endure it silently, not wanting to trouble others.
As for Benjamin, he had suffered from poison attacks since childhood, making him quiet and withdrawn. He never made a fuss.
Benjamin and Alaric didn't need much discipline from him, let alone criticism.
As for Cillian, he was the liveliest and most mischievous of the children.
Cillian got his fair share of scolding from Preston when he was young, but with his simple nature, he'd forget about it right after being punished.
After Arabella complained several times, he became unsure how to discipline Celestia and gradually stopped managing her.
But he still gave her whatever she wanted, just that Preston never scolded or criticized her again.
However, under Arabella's guidance, Celestia's temperament became increasingly extreme, growing more arrogant, domineering, and willful.
He remembered when Celestia was in high school, her teacher called him to say that Celestia and her friends were bullying a classmate.
The reason was that the student had excellent grades and, despite coming from a poor background, had gotten into a top high school in Silverlight City.
The girl had a rather timid personality, but teachers and classmates all liked her.
Celestia didn't like her and, together with a group of friends, cornered her against a wall and slapped her several times.
He was furious at the time and sternly ordered Celestia to apologize to that child.
However, Arabella turned it around on him, saying he was too harsh on Celestia, that she was still just a child...
Thinking about it now, he still felt a deep sense of regret.
Sophia noticed Preston's gaze and gently touched her belly.
"Grandpa, you need to get better quickly. The baby is waiting for you to give them a name."
The gleam in Preston's eyes brightened. "Alright! I'll take good care of myself!"
After Sophia finished examining Preston, everyone around the bed left one by one.
Sophia instructed Finn to give Preston his medicine on time every day.
Finn quickly agreed. Before they left, Finn couldn't help but remind them, "Come visit Mr. Preston White more often when you have time. He won't say it, but he really hopes you'll come."
"Okay."
Sophia and Benjamin nodded with a smile, then got in the car and left.
Chase was waiting outside the White Manor. Once Sophia and Benjamin got in the car, he immediately asked, "Mr. White, Mrs. White, are you going home or somewhere else?"
Sophia and Benjamin exchanged glances. "To the Lumina Group. I need to see Matthew."
Benjamin nodded as well, going along with whatever Sophia wanted.
Sophia had been going to the Lumina Group frequently these past few days.
She had developed an antidote for the children at the GeneCipher Society headquarters, but it needed to be administered in doses.
Those children had been taking the medicine for six days now, and today was the last day.
After today, those children would be as healthy and normal as anyone else.
After entering the Lumina Group, Sophia and Benjamin took the private elevator straight to the top floor.
Matthew's office was on the top floor.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, they ran into Oscar coming toward them.
Oscar's expression seemed a bit off. He froze when he saw Sophia and Benjamin.
Sophia asked in confusion, "Oscar, is something wrong?"
Oscar's expression stiffened, and he couldn't help but cough lightly. "Nothing's wrong. Ms. Brown, are you here to see Mr. Moore? You might have to wait a bit."
Sophia raised an eyebrow. "Is Matthew busy?"
"Probably pretty busy?"
Matthew was busy cultivating feelings with his first love.